The computer and electronics super geek superthread...

[mikeszekely]

I was wondering if anyone here uses a UI theme changer like StyleXP, WindowBlinds, or just a UX theme changer...

I have a lot of visual styles that I've downloaded in the past... just never used them...

any ideas of what's worth getting?

I use StyleXP and Icon Packager. The visual style I use is called VistaCG, and the icon set I use is called Vista Ultimate. I think I got both at CrystalXP.net. Download the Vista cursors and wallpaper (I just googled for them) and the end result was the Vista look without the hassle of actually running Vista.

[Uxi]

One of my DVD burners has basically stopped working. Device Manager says it's operating normally and troubleshooting doesn't reveal jack. It shows up as a CD-ROM and nothing will autoplay except a blank DVD-R (which prompts me to burn a disc, etc - but it won't burn). If I put anything in there (audio CD, CD-ROM, DVD, etc) it doesn't see anything. No new drivers available and I updated my firmware. It's a Sony DRU-810A. It was working great probably 2 or 3 weeks ago (last time I burned a DVD) and is only a year old maybe. Maybe two....

[mikeszekely]

One of my DVD burners has basically stopped working. Device Manager says it's operating normally and troubleshooting doesn't reveal jack. It shows up as a CD-ROM and nothing will autoplay except a blank DVD-R (which prompts me to burn a disc, etc - but it won't burn). If I put anything in there (audio CD, CD-ROM, DVD, etc) it doesn't see anything. No new drivers available and I updated my firmware. It's a Sony DRU-810A. It was working great probably 2 or 3 weeks ago (last time I burned a DVD) and is only a year old maybe. Maybe two....

IDE, not SATA, right? Just a shot in the dark, but try replacing the IDE cables, especially if the drive is newer than the rest of the computer, and you used cables from a previous optical drive.

[azrael]

IDE, not SATA, right? Just a shot in the dark, but try replacing the IDE cables, especially if the drive is newer than the rest of the computer, and you used cables from a previous optical drive.

It's an IDE.

Can you view anything on any discs with any data?

[emajnthis]

shows up in device manager as a CD-ROM? If that's the case then see if you can download the latest drivers from sony and then manually apply them through device manager.

[Uxi]

It's an IDE.

Can you view anything on any discs with any data?

Nope, can't view anything in any format.

There are no drivers on the Sony site, so I'm thinking it's a default driver. It was working fine though. Maybe one of the Windows updates in the last month or so fragged it?

[mikeszekely]

Nope, can't view anything in any format.

There are no drivers on the Sony site, so I'm thinking it's a default driver. It was working fine though. Maybe one of the Windows updates in the last month or so fragged it?

It's possible, but not too likely. I still think it's a bad IDE cable.

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

have you tried using this drive in another computer? I agree with mikeszekley about the bad IDE cable...

[Vince]

It's an IDE.

Can you view anything on any discs with any data?

have you try resetting your bios? how about delete the device from device manager, and then reboot?

[jwinges]

So I anybody hacked one of those tomtom one gps units? If so do you know of any good sites to learn how?

[Uxi]

I'll change out the cable tomorrow probably. I have reset the BIOS and deleted from device manager (followed by the requisite reboot). Thanks everyone.

[Metal_Massacre_79]

Could the discs/CD's be corrupt? I only ask because I've run into situations where I couldn't view anything on a few CD's that I burned and I knew there was info on them.

[lechuck]

I was looking at mac books in a store the other day because of the discussion on the previous page.

I'm not really in the market for a new laptop, but curiosity struck me because I hear everybody raving

on about this hardware. So I looked at these things and honestly judging by the specs for both mac book

and pro version I see nothing that warrants the extra 200 - 300 Euro price tag apple likes one to pay for -

unless you really have to have OS X running.

For that extra cash I could get a higher class laptop that would outclass the mac. As for the design well

it doesn't look bad but it isn't revolutionary either. So what's the deal or is it just typical apple hype

everybody is jumping on?

[mikeszekely]

I was looking at mac books in a store the other day because of the discussion on the previous page.

I'm not really in the market for a new laptop, but curiosity struck me because I hear everybody raving

on about this hardware. So I looked at these things and honestly judging by the specs for both mac book

and pro version I see nothing that warrants the extra 200 - 300 Euro price tag apple likes one to pay for -

unless you really have to have OS X running.

For that extra cash I could get a higher class laptop that would outclass the mac. As for the design well

it doesn't look bad but it isn't revolutionary either. So what's the deal or is it just typical apple hype

everybody is jumping on?

You sure you compared all the specs? You factored in the the built-in webcam and blutooth? RAM speed? Bus speed? And, as previously mentioned, the fastest Vista laptop is a MacBook Pro, which start around $2000. $2000 is entry-level pricing for a gaming laptop; my friend bought an HP laptop for $3500 that's a freaking behemoth.

It's true that you can buy laptops for less, and it's also true that depending on what you want to do with your laptop, that cheaper one might meet your needs just as well. But just because it uses a processor from the same family or has the same amount of RAM doesn't mean you're getting the same for less.

As for design, you're right, it's not revolutionary. It's a preference, though. I enjoy their minimalist approach. I must not be the only one, as Sony's started selling VAIO notebooks that look an awful lot like MacBooks (not to mention their new line of computer-in-monitor PCs that come with the super slim keyboards ala the iMacs).

But what seals the deal for a lot of us is the software. I mean, a lot of us here use Windows. We're used to Windows, and since Windows dominates the market we're confident we can find the software we want for Windows, especially games. For some of us, we even like that Windows PCs can be opened up and have parts replaced fairly easily, like videocards so you can run the newest of said games. But very few people will tell you that they actually like Windows. Many people will tell you that Windows is broken, or tell you about how they have to reformat and do a clean install every so often (I've done it four times on the computer I'm writing this from, for an average of about once a year).

The opposite is true for Mac OS X. Yeah, there's talk about the iPod halo effect, and Best Buy is starting to sell Macs, and the number of Mac users is on the rise, but we're not kidding ourselves. Mac users are something like 2% of the market. I've heard (although I don't know if this has changed) that there are more Linux users than Mac users out there. But Mac users continue to buy Apples because we genuinely like the software. Apple's minimalist approach to hardware design also pays off in software. Mac OS is simple and intuitive to use without the hand-holding and babysitting that's a part of Windows XP since SP2 and came with Vista. Subjectively, I think that Mac OS X has a cleaner interface and flat out looks better than even Vista with all it's pretty new visual effects turned on. Objectively, OS X is less resource intensive than Vista and does a better job allocating memory, so a MacBook with OS X tends to run better than a Windows notebook even if the specs are identical. And, if you really can't do without Windows, new Macs that come with the newest version of OS X, Leopard, can dual boot Mac OS and Windows XP or Windows Vista.

If you are considering the switch, see if you know someone that has a Mac and will let you play with it. If it's your first time using a Mac since OS X debuted, consider buying a book (I'm not ashamed to admit that I bought Tiger in Easy Steps... Mac OS X and Windows are often very different, and it doesn't hurt to have someone walk you through some of those differences). And finally, if you have some extra hardware (at minimum, a spare hard drive to replace the one you currently have Windows on), it is possible to use modified versions of OS X with certain types of PC hardware. It's not exactly kosher, but I freely admit that I never would have considered buying a Mac if I hadn't tried out Mac OS X first.

[azrael]

Actually, PC World got a laptop that was faster than the MBP. The Eurocom D900C Phantom-X, which was tested after they printed the article. But the $5158 US price tag will probably make many reconsider....really fast.

Concerning the Macbook, you can sure find something cheaper. And better. I can price a XPS 1330 for cheaper. But it comes down to what you want. After how-many-years of Windows, I was ready to get away from Windows. Linux was one alternative. But the marketplace started opening up to Macs when I started looking. And since my experience with Macs was limited, I felt this was a better choice. Thankfully at time, Macs started using Intel chips, so it made my hardware comparisons easier. When I actually started using OS X in the field, I found it to be quite a pleasant experience and not so bad once I started using it. Another thing that sealed my deal was Boot Camp. I could run Windows on the Mac so if i needed to run certain applications that needed a native Windows environment, I could easily switch to Windows.

But that's not to say OS X is not without its flaws, but I found the Mac side of things generally easier to deal with than a PC.

[myk]

Another thing that sealed my deal was Boot Camp. I could run Windows on the Mac so if i needed to run certain applications that needed a native Windows environment, I could easily switch to Windows.

But that's not to say OS X is not without its flaws, but I found the Mac side of things generally easier to deal with than a PC.

Wait a minute, the advantage of a Mac 'app like OS-X with the option of running windows as well? Wow. That would seal the deal for me as well, as my only argument against 'Mac mainly consisted of a lack of software availability...

[David Hingtgen]

Quick question that I can't find an answer by googling:

If I'm downloading a really big file from the net, can I put the PC in standby and have it continue downloading? Or will making it "sleep" stop the download? (Just plain old MSIE downloading, not FTP'ing or anything)

[eugimon]

Quick question that I can't find an answer by googling:

If I'm downloading a really big file from the net, can I put the PC in standby and have it continue downloading? Or will making it "sleep" stop the download? (Just plain old MSIE downloading, not FTP'ing or anything)

standby mode keeps the CPU alive (barely) and saves the data in your memory, but the HDD and display are shut down, so yeah, your downloads would stop in standby mode.

[azrael]

Wait a minute, the advantage of a Mac 'app like OS-X with the option of running windows as well?

If you don't like a boot loader like Boot Camp, you could run Parallels or WMware.

[mikeszekely]

If you don't like a boot loader like Boot Camp, you could run Parallels or WMware.

I don't know about Parallels, but I have VMWare Fusion. One of the advantages is that it can run your Boot Camp partition in a virtual window, so you can have it either way. I think both can run Windows apps through virtualization as if they were native Mac apps.

Honestly, aside from games (which work fine with Boot Camp), I think Macs are actually pretty good for software. Pretty much everything I use in Windows has a Mac version or open-source equivalent.

[emajnthis]

I don't know about Parallels, but I have VMWare Fusion. One of the advantages is that it can run your Boot Camp partition in a virtual window, so you can have it either way. I think both can run Windows apps through virtualization as if they were native Mac apps.

Honestly, aside from games (which work fine with Boot Camp), I think Macs are actually pretty good for software. Pretty much everything I use in Windows has a Mac version or open-source equivalent.

Parallels does that (runs in a virtual window) there's another program that does the exact same thing but the name of the program slips me at the moment (i have to recommend it to users that want to use macs on the network). As far as the OS's go, i think as long as your comfortable with it then use it. I'm against Apple purely for the sake of them being ridiculously overpriced and (superficially) proprietary, you could easily build a PC with superior performance and then load a copy of the MAC OS on there with better results. For the uber-geek, Linux is the way to go.

[mikeszekely]

Parallels does that (runs in a virtual window) there's another program that does the exact same thing but the name of the program slips me at the moment (i have to recommend it to users that want to use macs on the network). As far as the OS's go, i think as long as your comfortable with it then use it. I'm against Apple purely for the sake of them being ridiculously overpriced and (superficially) proprietary, you could easily build a PC with superior performance and then load a copy of the MAC OS on there with better results. For the uber-geek, Linux is the way to go.

The "ridiculously overpriced" argument comes up a lot, and it's just not true. I mean, yeah, you could build a solid gaming computer for about a grand less than a Mac Pro, but chances are, you're not building it with the same parts as the Mac Pro. Some magazine tried last year to configure a Dell with parts that were as close to the Mac Pro's as possible, and the resulting Dell was $700 more.

I agree, though, that a good home-built desktop is the way to go. If the power supply goes, I want to be able to replace it easily with something off the shelf, not some stupid overpriced, underpowered proprietary unit. But if you want to take that road, it's worth pointing out that HP, Sony, and probably Dell use proprietary parts too.

And as far as laptops go, I think we've already pointed out that while you can buy entry-level laptops cheaper than a MacBook, the MacBook Pro is reasonably priced compared to gaming laptops and desktop replacements.

As for Linux, people will flaunt the fact that they use it like it's some sort of mark of true geekdom. Frankly, I think it's for two types of people: the computer illiterate and the sadomasochists. The computer illiterate, because most distros come with a web browser, a media player (although they're probably missing codecs), and office software, and if it's probably set out for them in a nice psuedo-windows look they're familiar with. Sadomasochists, because if you really want to get into Linux the way you would with Windows or Mac OS X, you need to learn the Unix Terminal, and you need to learn to compile software for yourself. Honestly, if the Linux people really want to gain grounds against Microsoft, they need to come up with a cross-distro standard equivalent of an exe file.

[emajnthis]

The "ridiculously overpriced" argument comes up a lot, and it's just not true. I mean, yeah, you could build a solid gaming computer for about a grand less than a Mac Pro, but chances are, you're not building it with the same parts as the Mac Pro. Some magazine tried last year to configure a Dell with parts that were as close to the Mac Pro's as possible, and the resulting Dell was $700 more.

I agree, though, that a good home-built desktop is the way to go. If the power supply goes, I want to be able to replace it easily with something off the shelf, not some stupid overpriced, underpowered proprietary unit. But if you want to take that road, it's worth pointing out that HP, Sony, and probably Dell use proprietary parts too.

And as far as laptops go, I think we've already pointed out that while you can buy entry-level laptops cheaper than a MacBook, the MacBook Pro is reasonably priced compared to gaming laptops and desktop replacements.

As for Linux, people will flaunt the fact that they use it like it's some sort of mark of true geekdom. Frankly, I think it's for two types of people: the computer illiterate and the sadomasochists. The computer illiterate, because most distros come with a web browser, a media player (although they're probably missing codecs), and office software, and if it's probably set out for them in a nice psuedo-windows look they're familiar with. Sadomasochists, because if you really want to get into Linux the way you would with Windows or Mac OS X, you need to learn the Unix Terminal, and you need to learn to compile software for yourself. Honestly, if the Linux people really want to gain grounds against Microsoft, they need to come up with a cross-distro standard equivalent of an exe file.

I understand your point, to bring it down to basics, i'm in the same boat as you (and many others) where home build is the only way to go, i honestly hardly keep up with any of the OEM's though i know they all purchase from basically the same ODM's so the price/build quality will be about the same. Even with laptops, i've always purchased from an ODM and then purchased parts individually. Linux IMO is pretty spectacular if you're actually qualified to use it (using the terminal, not GUI) and as surprising as it may seem has become more and more useful in the real world as companies are using linux/unix servers especially in the networking and security side of things (My last two jobs both had me administering unix servers).

[azrael]

I understand your point, to bring it down to basics, i'm in the same boat as you (and many others) where home build is the only way to go, i honestly hardly keep up with any of the OEM's though i know they all purchase from basically the same ODM's so the price/build quality will be about the same. Even with laptops, i've always purchased from an ODM and then purchased parts individually. Linux IMO is pretty spectacular if you're actually qualified to use it (using the terminal, not GUI) and as surprising as it may seem has become more and more useful in the real world as companies are using linux/unix servers especially in the networking and security side of things (My last two jobs both had me administering unix servers).

Server-side, Linux/UNIX is an ideal set-up. My workplace has several clusters running Linux or some variant of UNIX or BSD. But on the desktop side, Windows and Macs dominate, and that so far, won't change much anytime soon.

[mikeszekely]

I understand your point, to bring it down to basics, i'm in the same boat as you (and many others) where home build is the only way to go, i honestly hardly keep up with any of the OEM's though i know they all purchase from basically the same ODM's so the price/build quality will be about the same. Even with laptops, i've always purchased from an ODM and then purchased parts individually. Linux IMO is pretty spectacular if you're actually qualified to use it (using the terminal, not GUI) and as surprising as it may seem has become more and more useful in the real world as companies are using linux/unix servers especially in the networking and security side of things (My last two jobs both had me administering unix servers).

Well, I love building desktops. I love it so much I'm thinking about grabbing a few certifications and starting my own business custom-building computers for rich kids who want that one-of-a-kind gaming rig but lack the technical know-how to do it themselves. But I personally feel that laptops in general are a pain in the ass to work with. Between that and the fact that I do prefer Mac OS X to any flavor of Windows, I'm happy to have home build desktops (and an HTPC that I also intend to use as a retro gaming box with some emulators), but I really do enjoy Mac laptops.

I didn't mean to come down so hard on Linux... I restored an old eMachines my brother threw out with Kubuntu, sold it, restored a Dell my uncle threw out with Vector Linux, sold it, and installed Yellow Dog Linux on my PS3. I had SUSE 10.0 in a virtual machine on my MacBook at one time, but never bothered to reinstall it when I upgraded the hard drive. If I can talk my wife into getting a new computer for herself, I want to take her old one and install something from the Open Solaris kit I ordered, maybe Belenix. I'm really not adverse to open source OSes at all, as I get more of a kick out of installing new software and messing around with it than I do PC gaming. I think my point was really that Linux (with a KDE desktop) is a great alternative to Windows for the computer illiterate for people who want to breathe new life into an old machine and really one want to get on the internet. And yeah, if you really take the time to learn Linux and the Terminal, maybe get Linux certified, Linux distros are remarkably versatile and customizable. The problem is that Linux can be a little unfriendly to someone on a more intermediate level, who is great with computer hardware, has plenty of experience tweaking Windows registries, but hasn't learned Unix. I guess I fall into that group... I want to do more with Linux, stuff that's second nature to me on Windows and Mac, stuff that might be second nature to Linux pros, but I haven't learned the Linux way of doing it. My biggest accomplishments were probably compiling MPlayer for YDL and writing a script that put a PlayStation button on the Dock-thing in YDL that would automatically shut down Linux and reboot back into the PS3s OS when you click on it.

As you said, though, the demand for the Linux-certified is pretty good. I think I'll do that after A+.

Anyway, you might like Mac OS X more than you think. The Darwin kernel that it's build on is a Unix derivative, complete with Terminal. By default, the highest user account you can create in Mac OS is Administrator; I forget why I did it, but I used the Terminal to grant myself access to the root account.

[David Hingtgen]

Just a little update: Now that I'm finally over the flu I checked out all the printers I was considering again, this time testing black/text instead of photos. And:

They all suck. Every one (even $400+) is vastly inferior at basic "black text on white paper" than my years-old cheap HP inkjet. It is very true that text quality is sacrificed for photo quality on newer printers. They are a million times better at photos than mine, but not half as good at basic black text. And I print words a whole lot more than photos.

The only one which might possibly do well at both is a Canon (has 2 different blacks, one just for text) that absolutely won't fit in my computer desk and isn't sold here so I can't see it first-hand anyways. (plus I truly hate top/rear-loaders). Guess I just won't be getting a new printer for a while, maybe in another couple years photo-capable printers will be able to print text as well as a late-90's inket.

[Hiriyu]

Just a little update: Now that I'm finally over the flu I checked out all the printers I was considering again, this time testing black/text instead of photos. And:

They all suck. Every one (even $400+) is vastly inferior at basic "black text on white paper" than my years-old cheap HP inkjet. It is very true that text quality is sacrificed for photo quality on newer printers. They are a million times better at photos than mine, but not half as good at basic black text. And I print words a whole lot more than photos.

The only one which might possibly do well at both is a Canon (has 2 different blacks, one just for text) that absolutely won't fit in my computer desk and isn't sold here so I can't see it first-hand anyways. (plus I truly hate top/rear-loaders). Guess I just won't be getting a new printer for a while, maybe in another couple years photo-capable printers will be able to print text as well as a late-90's inket.

Yeah, funny, that. Myself personally, my decade-old HP 820CXi inkjet does everything I ask of it with aplomb. Daqng thing still hasn't kicked the bucket.

[David Hingtgen]

HP 800 series does rock, mine's an 832C. Reading some reviews, I found the 832C's actually fairly in demand now (despite being long out of production), as it's about the fastest, highest-quality and most reliable inkjet there is for basic "black text on white". I think it's jammed one sheet of paper ever, in all the years I've had it. Plus it has (by modern standards) a massive ink capacity, yet the cartridge costs no more than ones that hold only 1/4 the ink. I only have to buy black ink about once a year due to that. Lastly, it has a less-than-a-second startup time and nearly instant shutoff. No 30-sec warmup like most, then wait another 20 noisy secs for the print head(s) to park when your done. (I counted the Epsons at 43 secs at Best Buy, minimum time from startup to printing--that's insanely slow)

Buying a photo-capable printer would force me to make WAY too many sacrifices from what I currently own--speed, ink capacity, startup/warmup time, reliability, etc. Plus the most important "massive drop in basic black text quality". My 832C also beats them all for ease of paper handling/loading. You just drop it in. No fluffling/rifling a new stack, using trays/casettes, carefully aligning various sliders, etc. Just shove in a handful when you run low. So long as it can grab it, it'll be fine.

[mikeszekely]

OK, I've decided build a home theater PC. I can build a middle of the road one with an HDCP compliant motherboard that supports audio and video out over HDMI for maybe $300, so connecting it to my existing home theater equipment will be a snap. As the prices come down, I can replace the Conroe-L chip I want to use with Core 2 Duo and swap the DVD-ROM for a Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo drive. Plus, I plan on using a big hard drive, so I can store my iTunes library on it. I'll definitely use it for multi-media files, and if DVD, HD-DVD, and Blu-ray playback turn out OK, I'll probably use it for at least DVD and HD-DVD (I'll dump my 360 HD-DVD add-on). Probably stick with the PS3 for Blu-ray, since it's there.

Anyway, does anyone know of any good media center software? I usually use Front Row on my Mac, but since it uses the Mac default software (iTunes and Quicktime) it sometimes has playback issues. I've never used Windows Media Center, as I only have XP Home and an Enterprise copy of Vista, but I'm assuming that it'll have the same problems. What would really be good is a media center front end for VLC.

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

has anyone installed sp3 for windows xp? i installed it on my old laptop hdd, it seems to run a lot faster but it seems like it's more unstable (figures since it's a beta) just wondering if anyone else has any feedback on it

[Ishimaru]

has anyone installed sp3 for windows xp? i installed it on my old laptop hdd, it seems to run a lot faster but it seems like it's more unstable (figures since it's a beta) just wondering if anyone else has any feedback on it

I'm not noticing instability, I guess it can be unstable depending on the hardware your using.

[jwinges]

Heads up.

For those that picked up the TOM TOM One LE from best buy. My local Tom Tom rep told me that they had a bad batch and those that do not have a little white dot (a sticker) on the bottom are defective. I went through 2 of the bad one's before getting a good one. Units without the dot will not pick up any satallites until they are updated...too bad that because of the defects that takes about 3-5 hours with a 5GB connection. When I got the good unit it took about 10 minutes to updae it and it worked before I updated it.

BTW the little white dot is about an eighth to a quarter inch wide and will be on the bottom of the package near one of the bar codes.

Cheers

[Morpheus]

I have a problem with my home laptop (Sony VAIO-VGN-E50B/S), the hard disk crash with the SMART failure message. I was trying to back up some data before its completely fail so I change the BIOS to boot from the CD by using Win XP installation CD. The problem is it refuse to read the CD drive and keep trying to read the dying HD.

Any suggestion on what should I do?

[mikeszekely]

I have a problem with my home laptop (Sony VAIO-VGN-E50B/S), the hard disk crash with the SMART failure message. I was trying to back up some data before its completely fail so I change the BIOS to boot from the CD by using Win XP installation CD. The problem is it refuse to read the CD drive and keep trying to read the dying HD.

Any suggestion on what should I do?

Unfortunately, the only information I could turn up on that laptop was in Japanese, and it's been too long since I tried to read anything more complicated than an option menu in an import game. For the record, after changing the BIOS to boot from CD, you're not just hitting ESC to exit the BIOS, you're remembering to save the changes first, right? The only other thing I could think of is to try taking the drive out and sticking it in one of those internal-to-external drive enclosures and use that to try to dump your data onto another computer, like a desktop. Of course, this also assumes that the laptop isn't your only computer, but if your posting here, I'm guessing it's not.

[Morpheus]

Unfortunately, the only information I could turn up on that laptop was in Japanese, and it's been too long since I tried to read anything more complicated than an option menu in an import game. For the record, after changing the BIOS to boot from CD, you're not just hitting ESC to exit the BIOS, you're remembering to save the changes first, right? The only other thing I could think of is to try taking the drive out and sticking it in one of those internal-to-external drive enclosures and use that to try to dump your data onto another computer, like a desktop. Of course, this also assumes that the laptop isn't your only computer, but if your posting here, I'm guessing it's not.

Currently I'm using my Fujitsu Laptop and yes, I saved the BIOS setting before I quit, I've also tried by using bootable floppy (win xp recovery disk), and its also refused to boot from the floppy.

Ok, I'll try to pull the HD out and connect it into this one.

Another question, will replacing the HD into a new one solve the unable to boot from CD/floppy problem?

Or my VAIO is dead and I must buy a new one?

Edited December 22, 2007 by Morpheus